A Brighton estate agent is bidding to revive the property market and increase the volume of residential conveyancing in the city by encouraging its staff to write poetic descriptions of homes for sale rather than use standard phrases and jargon.

After attending a poetry course to inspire their writing to be less cliché-ridden, many of the agency's website and written property details now include poems such as haikus – Japanese-style 17-syllable verses.

A Regency two-bedroom seafront flat has been given this lyrical description: "The first thing you see is the sea meeting the sky; like old comrades they share a warm embrace. Coats of armour; the cornice lines up. Without feeling lonely, the room has an echo. Ornate surroundings, the fire begs a match"; rather than the more prosaic original: "spacious, high quality and within short walking distance of local shops."

The agency's manager told The Daily Telegraph that the poetic messages would help the agency stand out in the crowded house-sellers' market.

"The way estate agents write about properties can be quite boring and structured and formal but some of the properties are so beautiful and creative and the workshop taught us how we could convey that through our use of language.

Although home sales in Brighton and London are among areas of the UK less severely affected by the downturn than many others, it's not known if other property professionals, such as residential conveyancing solicitors, will be following suit in their marketing materials and setting out to attract clients through verse or other unusual means.